Confederate Texas license plate a vote away from approval

Confederate Texas plate is one vote shortControversial logo awaits approval from the DMV

RENÉE C. LEE, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Published 5:30 am, Saturday, June 25, 2011

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Sons of Confederate Veterans license plate

Sons of Confederate Veterans license plate

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Confederate Texas license plate a vote away from approval

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A local division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is just one vote away from gaining approval of a Texas specialty license plate bearing its logo, which prominently features the Confederate flag.

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicle license board voted on the group's request in April, but it was a tie vote. One of the nine members was absent, so the board decided to reconsider the request at its next meeting June 9.

The meeting, however, didn't take place because a board member from Houston died June 3.

Now, the Sons of Confederate Veterans must wait until Gov. Rick Perry appoints a new board member, and that might not happen until fall, said DMV spokeswoman Kim Sue Lia Perkes.

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The Sons of Confederate Veterans is a nonprofit that preserves and honors the history and legacy of Confederate soldiers. Formed in 1896, it is the oldest hereditary organization for male descendants of Confederate soldiers, according to its website.

A mock plate was posted on the DMV's website in March. Comments were overwhelmingly positive: 186 in favor, 3 against.

"I think it is a wonderful idea to honor our Confederate Veterans during the 150th anniversary years of the war between the states," one resident wrote.

"I am a young African-American, and I completely support and endorse the Sons of Confederate vets plate. … Many blacks fought for the South during the Civil War, and they would be honored by this license," wrote another resident.

Fighting for approval

But not all comments were positive.

"I think your "Sons of the Confederacy" plate will open up some old wounds that this country has been trying for years to heal. What will be next? One with a Swastika?" wrote one resident.

The SCV has won approval of the license plates in nine other states, including Georgia, Maryland and Tennessee, the organization's headquarters. It has filed and won lawsuits in states where its requests were denied, said national executive director Ben Sewell.

The group also is seeking approval of plates with its logo in Florida, Kentucky and Mississippi.

It sued Florida after the state Legislature rejected its request. A federal judge in March ruled that the state's license plate law was unconstitutional because it engages in "viewpoint discrimination."

Confederate flags and abortion-related messages are the two most controversial license plate issues, said David Hudson, a scholar with the Nashville-based First Amendment Center.

'We have the right'

Ray James, the immediate past commander of the Texas division, said the local group isn't looking for another courtroom battle and hopes the Texas board will approve the license plate.

"We don't think we should have to fight with a lawsuit," said James, a Texas A&M engineering professor. "We believe we're in the right here, and we have the right to have a license plate like anyone else."

Proceeds from the sale of the plates would be used to place markers on Confederate soldiers' graves and to build monuments honoring Confederate heroes, he said. The group would share the money with the Texas General Land Office to preserve artifacts, he said.

The land office is the group's sponsoring agency. The DMV requires that nonprofit organizations requesting a plate have a state sponsoring agency.

The department's licensing board denied the request. The SCV applied again three months later when the newly created Department of Motor Vehicles took over issuing license plates.

More than a year passed before the agency presented the request to the new board in April.

The agency was busy creating new criteria and a new approval process for specialty plates, Perkes said. The request was further delayed because the group's logo had to be tweaked to meet legibility requirements, she said.

Hatred or heritage?

The Confederate flag has long been seen as a symbol of racism and oppression by some people, particularly blacks.

Several comments opposing the license plate made that point clear.

One said, "The confederate flag is a symbol of hatred and bigotry. … It's shameful that a state agency is actually even entertaining the prospect of promoting this symbol of freedom and justice for some (whites), rather than for all American Texans."

But SCV members argue that the battle flag is a symbol of heritage. It was created by Confederate soldiers to distinguish themselves from the Union soldiers during the Civil War to avoid friendly fire, they said.

"We don't know how to answer when someone is offended," James said. "It's really frustrating. The flag has been tarred with a brush of racism. We're trying our best to honor Confederate soldiers. This knee-jerk reaction against all things Confederate is not right.

"They think because the flag was misused in the past that we don't have a right to display it today, and it's not right."